Do this in remembrance of me: Reflection for the Mass of the Lord's Supper, April 17, 2025

Do this in remembrance of me. This means that the events of the Eucharist, Good Friday, and Easter are not simple recollections, but an invitation to enter more fully into the divine actions of Christ. Readings for Today.Do this in remembrance of meMemory is an amazing faculty. Memory allows us to time travel, making the past into the present. Memory invokes all kinds of wonderful feelings. Memory can even bring the dead back to life, at least in our minds.But there is a special type of "memory" that we engage in when we go to Mass. When we talk about the remembrance at Mass, we do not mean memory like remembering what we had for dinner the night before. The type of remembrance we mean is anamnesis. In an article by David Ramsey, published in Religion and Literature, we read some interesting observations about the word anamnesis, and about the words from the second reading today by Saint Paul.Ramsey points out that when Saint Paul says, "Do this in remembrance of me", he is not simply referring to memory as a function of the brain. There is something much deeper. Let's consider each part. The verb "do" is poieö." "When used in connection with human activity, the verb poieö is the sense of making, manufacturing or producing something." (Ramsey, 2017, 83.) The result is that this is not to be a passive function of the intellect, but rather an active entering into something much greater. What Saint Paul reminds us of are the words of Jesus. Do this in remembrance of me. This word remembrance, is the word anamnesis. Anamnesis is "an event or experience of the past that is brought actually and effectively into the present." (Ramsey, p. 83) So the anamnesis at Mass is not simply a recollection of the past, but an entering into an event in the present. So rather than the Reformation objection that calling Mass a sacrifice meant killing Jesus over and over again, the Mass is a time where we are entering in an engaging way the one sacrifice of Christ. The once for all sacrifice is made present again. This is what it is meant to do when we are told by Jesus to "do this in remembrance of me."But there is more. What we are engaging in is the Divine Liturgy in heaven. What is meant by anamnesis "is that the 'action' of the earthly church in the eucharist only manifests within time the eternal act of Christ as the heavenly High-priest at the altar before the throne ofGod, perpetually pleading his accomplished and effectual sacrifice." (Ramsey, p. 83)This is sometimes expressed in the phrase that Mass is the meeting of heaven and earth. This is made more clear in the sense of the theology of the eastern Church, where there is a clear iconostasis, or wall that represents the division of heaven and earth. There are words and actions not visible to the faithful, because the cleric, acting in the person of Christ is standing before the Father in heaven.And so what we celebrate tonight is our entrance into heaven here on earth. And to actually be able to enter, the gospel reminds us that at the heart of the heavenly and earthly encounter is the absolute recognition of the inherent human dignity every human being shares.The washing of the feet then is an action for the leaders of the Church. The leadership Jesus envisions in his Church is one of service. We are not to lord over our leadership with brutal authority, but to show forth in our actions, attitudes and beliefs the need to serve. This is the sense the Jewish people have when they celebrate the Passover. Mass is not simply saying the right words. It is entering into, over and over again throughout the Mass into a series of actions. Not only do we hear words of text when the readings are proclaimed. God's word is made real to us again.The actions of Jesus, particularly at the Last Supper stand outside of time. The death of Jesus on the Cross stands outside of time. And Mass is when we enter into these events that stand outside of time, in eternity.Read more . . .